Wedding Dress Shopping
April // October 5th, 2009 // 3 Comments »
Saturday, October 4, 2009 was perhaps the most important day of my entire life. More important than the day I met Joe, the day he proposed, or even our wedding day. It was the day I went shopping for my wedding dress! Of course I decided to make a girls day out of it and include the four most important women in my life, so shortly after the engagement, we planned the event for the first Saturday in October. That morning, my mom, grandmother and sister (maid of honor) drove in from Livingston and my cousin Lauren (matron of honor) came from Midlothian. After a quick lunch at Panera Bread Co., we headed to our first appointment at Priscilla of Boston.
Lauren and I had made a quick stop in there the week before the official dress shopping day to check out their sample sale, and while there I found and tried on a beautiful gown that I knew I wanted to try on when we came back with the rest of my family. When we arrived, I grabbed that dress as well as a few others I liked. My family loved the same dress that I did and even though it was way over the previously discussed wedding dress budget, my mom was willing to splurge. I knew I loved this dress, but we had another appointment at Patsy’s Bridal Salon in Uptown at 2pm. Something told me that if I did not go to Patsy’s, I would always wonder “what if…”. So we left Priscilla a little before 2 and made our way to Patsy’s, certain that we would be returning in an hour to purchase the dress.
Patsy’s was quite different than Priscilla of Boston. Rather than allow me to browse through the dresses and choose ones I liked, the bridal consultant asked what style I was looking for and brought the dresses to me. For those of you who watch TLC, it was very Say Yes to the Dress! I tried on about ten different dresses and with each one, we all said “it’s just not the one at Priscilla…”. After hearing us say this several times, the consultant asked me to describe that dress in more detail, and when I did, she threw her hand up and rushed off. She came back holding the dress I immediately knew I would be walking down the aisle in. I put it on, and when I emerged from the dressing room and stood in front of the mirror and my family, we all said “this is THE ONE!”. It was very similar to the Priscilla gown, only it fit better and I was able to move more easily in it. I loved it so much that I did not want to take it off. As I fell more and more in love with this dress, we browsed through the shoes and jewelry, discussed how I would wear my hair, and Lauren and Brooke scoped out bridesmaid dresses. After an hour, the consultant asked if I wouldn’t mind changing out of the dress because her next appointment was waiting for a fitting room! By 3pm, we had purchased the dress of my dreams and had the rest of the day to indulge in some more shopping.
At Brooke’s request, we headed to NorthPark where Joe joined us for some shopping and Brooke and I scored a few new items compliments of mom and grandma. We then went across the street to Barnes & Noble where I got a cute pink polka-dotted wedding planner and few wedding magazines. We finished the evening with dinner at Mi Cocina. The next morning, we had brunch at Breadwinner’s before the girls headed back to Livingston. I was sad to see them go, but happy to have had them there to share in an unforgettable experience. Choosing your wedding dress is much like choosing your groom…when you find the right one, you just know.
I was thinking after my family left that I wished I had taken pictures during our shopping extravaganza, but little did I know, Joe had sent his iFlip pocket camera along with Brooke so she could secretly capture footage of the big event! Thankfully, she had enough sense not film me in the dress I chose, so Joe has not seen it…
